Aurora Labs CEO Declan Hannon: How Aurora Intents Is Simplifying On-Chain Funding for COCA’s 1M+ Users

Cross-chain funding has long been treated as a bridging problem — but Aurora Labs CEO Declan Hannon argues it’s actually a fragmentation problem, one that multiplies with every new chain a consumer product has to support.

In this interview, Hannon walks through how Aurora Intents, built on the NEAR Intents protocol, is addressing that fragmentation for COCA, a fintech platform serving more than a million users across 75 countries.

He discusses the mechanics of persistent deposit addresses, the solver-based execution model behind Aurora’s routing, and why he believes reducing user-facing complexity — not adding more chains — is what will ultimately drive crypto adoption into mainstream finance. Q1.

How is the partnership between Aurora Intents and COCA a significant landmark for Aurora Labs in the simplification of on-chain funding? On-chain funding was never really a bridging problem. It’s a fragmentation problem.